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From the Pastor&
In 1943, a Polish Jew, Yossel Rakover, died in the Warsaw ghetto. The following words were written on a dirty piece of paper squeezed into a small bottle:
God, you have done everything to make me stop
believing in you. Now, lest it seem to you that you
will succeed by these tribulations in driving me from
the right path, I notify you, God, and God of my
fathers, that it will not avail you in the least.
You may insult me. You may castigate me. You may
take from me all that I cherish and hold dear in the world. You may torture me to death, but I will always love you and these are my last words to you, my wrathful God: ... die exactly as I have lived, crying, "Eternally praised be the God of the dead, the God of vengeance, of truth, of love, who will show his face to the world again and shake its foundations with his almighty voice."
What kind of person could write this? Could you? No matter what happens in this life, can we say to God... I will always love You, God. I hope and pray that each one of us can say it today and tomorrow and right up to the moment of death.
How can some people keep believing in and loving God when life often seems to be one cross after another? Could it be as simple as loving and being loved by those around us, like family members, friends and other believers? Why do we wait until a person dies to deliver our eulogies and send flowers? People, like you and me, need to shower those we love with affections and flowers while they are alive, not at their funerals.
In Father John Powell's classic book Unconditional Love, there is a story of a young man, Tommy, who is dying of cancer at the age of twenty-four. Before his death he comes to see Powell and shares with him that he feels there are worse tragedies in life than dying young. Tommy tells Fr. Powell: "The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them."
We belong to families and we belong to the Church for the same reason: to offer each other love and affection! Nobody wants to be alone in their joys (a marriage, a new baby, Christmas, Thanksgiving, an anniversary) nor do we want to be alone in our sufferings (illness, divorce, separation, death, depression). As we worship and give thanks or ask for help from God, we do it together. We belong to families and to a church to tell people that we love them and to hear them tell us that we are loved.
Is this trivial fluff? Hardly. This is the real meat and potatoes, as they say. The tragedy is to go through life without telling people they are loved and letting them tell us we are loved. Wasn't that the commandment Jesus gave us at the Last Supper?
We die the way we live life. We don't change on our death-bed. Jesus didn't become a different person on the cross. You and I are preparing to meet God at the end of our lives. Church helps us get ready and to live loving lives.
Yossel Rakover, the Polish Jew who died in 1943, could write those words because he loved and was loved by his family, friends and members of his synagogue. Is there anything more important?
Fr. Bill
REMINDER: The collection for the retired Sisters of St. Francis is this weekend. If you forgot, you can give next weekend. There are special envelopes available near the sacristy.
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